Psalm 119:137-140
137 Righteous are you, O Lord,
and right are your rules*.
138 You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness
and in all faithfulness.
139 My zeal consumes me,
because my foes forget your words.
140 Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.
* Through these reflections, those phrases that identify God’s word, revelation, or law will be highlighted in the text in the hopes of accentuating the many and varied ways we can visualize what God has given to us for our good.
Reflection
It is difficult to trust in God’s word when we do not always trust in God. I am not sure what other conclusion we can draw.
If we say that we believe that the Scriptures are God’s revelation to humanity, but we do not seek to understand its meaning or conform our lives to its mandates, questions must be asked. Do we actually believe what we claim?
One of the initial challenges to the Christian life is accepting the whole of God’s word as God’s word. To begin to grapple with all that the sacred texts contain.
The life of faith is not merely about performing rote functions at religious meetings. This is not what God desires or expects from us. However, if we do not honestly engage with what God has provided, but rather find reasons and ways of explaining away what is there, we will not find our faith in God growing. It will have been sabotaged before it even has a chance to get up to speed.
Commentary
Verse 137: The righteousness of God is what instills within us confidence in the rightness of the rules he gives to us. When we know God has command us to do something, we do not have to question whether we should do it. By virtue of it having been given by God, we should proceed with urgency.
Verse 138: What God has said will not be overturned. There is nothing that can do it. And there is no one who as the authority to do it. God’s word is unchangeable for God himself is unchanging. While this should cause us concern in our fellow human beings, we ought not have any such fears related to God. Human nature can be fickle and erratic. God’s nature is nothing of the sort. For this we can be ever thankful.
Verse 139: To be zealous, is to have a deep and constant passion for something. In this verse we see the zeal of the writer is overwhelming. They look at what is happening to those who forget the words of God and are motivated to redouble their efforts. To know God’s word is to become passionate about all it instructs.
Verse 140: When a child of God takes God at his word, the result is a fulfilled promise. The Psalmist tells us they have tested God’s promises and they have been found firm and unimpeachable. When our confidence in God is reaffirmed over and over again, it is difficult to lose hope or become distracted by the many trials and temptations of life. God’s faithful fulfillment of his promises gives us all the more reason to rejoice in God.
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